Catherine Shu
TechCrunch
Taiwan, Province of China
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Past articles by Catherine:
Parallax removes the friction from cross-border payments
Sending money across borders is filled with friction, like long wait times, high transaction costs and markups on currency exchange. A startup called Parallax wants to make the process faster and cheaper with a cross-border payments system that can be used for stablecoin, crypto or traditional currencies. Parallax has raised $4.5 million in seed funding […] → Read More
English learning platform ELSA lands $23M Series C
ELSA, the English language learning platform, announced today it has raised $23 million in Series C funding. It also launched ELSA AI Tutor, which draws on years of speech recognition data collected by the app and reproduces conversations through generative AI to help learners correct their pronunciation, grammar and tone. This brings ELSA’s total raised […] → Read More
Ascento’s robots aid overstretched security guards
Like in many industries, there’s an acute shortage of security guards. This means guards still on the job have to pull extra hours and are more likely to make mistakes because of fatigue. Ascento is stepping into the gap with autonomous security patrolling robots called Ascento Guards. Distinguished by their wheel-leg design that can cover […] → Read More
Taiwan-based lifestyle app FunNow merges with Eatigo to broaden its Southeast Asia reach
FunNow, the Taiwan-based app that lets users book activities on-demand, is growing its reach in Southeast Asia through a merger with restaurant booking app Eatigo. → Read More
Moxie raises $15.7M to make opening med spas easier
Treatments like botox are becoming more ubiquitous, spurring growth in the number of medspas, or centers that offer botox, IV hydration and laser treatments from certified providers like registered nurses. Opening a medspa, however, can be a lengthy and expensive process. Moxie wants to make it easier with its “business-in-a-box” model, offering providers coaching, access […] → Read More
Backed by Peak XV and Jungle, Neurowyzr puts the focus on brain health
The rate of dementia is expected to double every 20 years, but many tools for early detection, like MRI scans, are difficult to access. Neurowyzr wants to give more people access to brain healthcare. → Read More
HealthXCapital’s team joins Jungle Ventures
The team behind HealthXCapital, which invested in and helped health tech startups scale up, has joined Singapore-based Jungle Ventures. Seemant Jauhari, who led HealthXCapital since it was founded eight years ago, is now a partner at Jungle, where he will invest in healthcare startups in Southeast Asia and India. HealthXCapital’s portfolio includes RED.Health, Homage, Medfin […] → Read More
Backed by Gradient, Fileread use large language models to make legal discovery more efficient
Legal discovery is one of the most time-consuming parts of litigation and typically involves team of specialists combing through towers of documents. Fileread, a startup that uses large language learning models (LLMs) to create tools for faster and more efficient discovery, announced today it has raised $6 million in seed funding. → Read More
Indonesian aquaculture startup eFishery nets $200M at unicorn valuation
After reports that it is raising new funding, Indonesian aquaculture startup eFishery announced today that it has netted $200 million in a Series D. The company, which makes a smart feeding system for fisheries, says this makes it the first startup in the global aquaculture industry to pass a $1 billion valuation. It’s goal is […] → Read More
Brinc launches new program for climate tech startups
Brinc, the Hong Kong-based accelerator backed by investors like Animoca Brands, is launching a new program for fledgling climate tech startups. The three-month program is tailored for founders who are focused on carbon dioxide removal (CDR). They will receive fundraising support, guidance on how to scale up and introductions to Brinc’s network of follow-on investors, mentors and corporates. → Read More
Fertifa enables companies to offer fertility and reproductive health benefits
The number of workplaces offering fertility and reproductive healthcare benefits are on the rise. Doing so can help companies become more competitive employers and bolster diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, for example by attracting more women and LGBTQ+ people. Based in London, Fertifa wants to enable more companies in Europe to offer reproductive benefits to […] → Read More
DePoly keeps hard to recycle plastic from ending up in landfills
About 400 million tons of plastic are produced each year, but less than 10% is recycled, with most of the rest ending up incinerated or in landfills. One reason is that it is difficult for conventional recycling processes to handle contaminated plastics, like those that are made up of several different types of plastics, combined […] → Read More
Supply chain startup Baskit supports Indonesia's middlemen
Large brand distributors dominate the top of the supply chain, but toward the bottom, there are thousands of middlemen, including wholesalers, who are the ones creating relationships with retailers. Founded last year, Baskit wants to provide them with tools to digitize the management of their inventory and services to help them get better prices. The […] → Read More
UTU raises $35M to help travelers get more from tax-free shopping
Utu, a travel tech company that helps flyers get more out of their tax-free shopping, announced today it has raised a $35 million Series B led by SC Ventures. Part of the funding was used to acquire CardsPal, a Singapore-based fintech that offers deals and promotions nearby to users. → Read More
Notarize launches Proof to ensure safe online transactions
Notarize, the world’s largest online notary network, is launching Proof, a new company and platform for digital identity verifications. Beginning in August, Notarize’s business tools will be rebranded to Proof, and it is also changing its company name to Proof. Notarize will continue serving its online notary network, which is used by companies like Adobe […] → Read More
Philippines startup Shoppable Business smooths bumps in the business procurement process
Shoppable Business wants to make it easier for businesses in the Philippines to source and procure branded products and other inventory, with an emphasis on making sure products are authentic. The B2B e-commerce marketplace announced it has closed what it says was an oversubscribed pre-seed funding round of $1.15 million. → Read More
With backing from Thiel, Recharge Capital launches $200M women’s health investment vehicle
Demand for IVF is growing worldwide, but only 1% of healthcare research is invested in female health conditions. Recharge Capital wants to bridge the gap with a new investment vehicle totaling $200 million. It will focus on creating women’s health and fertility care ecosystems in Southeast Asia, Latin America, Europe and the Middle East through […] → Read More
Backstrapped to 800,000 users, online programming community JDoodle lands funding
Started as a side project, JDoodle, which lets developers practice more than six dozen programming languages on one website, hit 800,000 users while being bootstrapped. Now the Sydney, Australia-based startup has set a goal of 8 million users within the next 24 months after getting $3.2 million AUD (about $2.2 million USD) in new funding. […] → Read More
One Future Football’s virtual worldwide soccer league launches with backing from Blackbird
Founded in Melbourne, One Future Football (1FF) bills itself as the “world’s first global soccer league,” and it’s goal is to attract first-time soccer fans. It launches today with more than 250 CGI generated players, who have backstories created so all fans have someone they can relate to (for example, there are players with diabetes […] → Read More
Kaya Founders backs Philippines startups from “Day 0”
The Philippines’ startup ecosystem is poised for strong growth, thanks to the country’s rising GDP, fast adoption of online services and a new generation of founders. Launched by tech and investment veterans, Kaya Founders wants to back the most promising startups from the very beginning. The venture firm announced today that it has closed $12 […] → Read More